Christmas in NYC

We took an afternoon off and headed to Manhattan to see the sites at Christmastime.  After the lights at Temple Square, I was expecting the Big Apple to have been on a much larger scale of festiveness.  I was a bit underwhelmed at how little the city was decked out.  Still, it was a fun outing together in New York City.

The weather was very mild and so we started our adventures in Central Park.  The kids loved the playground and thought that the tunnels were just like the subways they were dying to try out.

The subway was all they had hoped for.  They loved that it was underground and rocked all over.  The rest of the afternoon was spent answering C's non-stop queries of what else we had to do before we could ride the subway back to the car.

Some of our stops were Rockefeller Plaza,

Times Square

and the displays at Sak's 5th Ave (a slightly odd story you could follow through all of the windows about a little girl and bubble machines next to evening wear).

One of our favorite parts was the light show on the Saks building across from Rockefeller Plaza.  They had a big countdown and then they made it look like the windows on the building were opening up and you could see inside where bubbles were being made.  The kids thought it was especially cool. 

O Christmas Tree

I convinced Q to put aside his anguished feelings about chopping down a tree that had worked for 6 years to become big and beautiful, and to let us get a real Christmas tree while in Connecticut. I do feel some guilt thinking that our little buddy only has a month left, but gosh it has been wonderful. And we had such a great time searching for the perfect tree.

 

It was an amazingly sunny day, the trees were on a beautiful farm, and everything was made so easily accessible that it was exactly the type of tree hunting to do for this age group!


We wandered until we found the tree surrounded by a halo of light, tried to convince the kids to look around at all of the other types of trees, and then gave up and headed back to our initial find.


There was a moment of complete despair when C found a stump and was sure someone had taken our tree.
 

Luckily, no one thought that it was as perfect as we did, so Q sawed it down and we brought it home.

We had lots of help decorating

and G was pretty excited about the finished tree (minus all of the lovely Christmas cards that we've been receiving) -- now if only we can get him to look, but not touch. 

Christmas Book Countdown

Along with the advent calendar, we started a new tradition of the Christmas Book Countdown.  Each night, we unwrap a new book, and then we read it by the Christmas tree.  There is quite a mix, since most of the books come from the limited offerings of our local libraries, but we're getting a nice preview of books that we might add to our personal library in the future.

Our wrapped stack is shrinking, and our basket of unwrapped books is starting to overflow.  It has been a fun way to have Christmas books around the house this year.

Nativity

I loved the idea of a more Christ-centered take on gingerbread house building. The kids had a great time getting sick on candy and creating some adorable nativity characters. L came up with the sheep, and I also loved her take on Mary's "old fashioned" ponytail.  C and I had fun with the wisemen. Q built the stable and added the sheep droppings.  Little G tried to eat everything in sight and make a mess. 

 I think next year I'll have to give them more types of candy to work with.  It was a fun advent activity that I think is going to make our permanent countdown to Christmas.  C keeps asking when we get to eat it.

Campus Tour

Since coming to New Haven, I'd been wanting to do an official tour of the Yale campus. During Thanksgiving when my sister was here, we were able to go and learn all sorts of interesting things about the university.  For instance, ALL incoming freshman are assigned to a College that they are part of for their entire undergraduate studies. 

Each college occupies a building that opens out into a private grass courtyard, and students share a study lounge and eating hall.  So essentially, they live, eat, study, and socialize with their College.  It reminded me quite a bit of Hogwarts, except they are randomly assigned to their college. The architect (who was believe to be a bit loony and genius) created everything to look Modern Gothic.  His great desire in life was to build a Gothic Cathedral, so he convinced the school to allow him to make the main library a Cathedral of Knowledge.  

The circulation desk even looks like an altar. 

  It was a fun tour and I left feeling connected to the campus where Q spends his days.

New York

Living on the East Coast is cool.  We get beaches, beautiful fall colors, and proximity to a lot of swell things.  New York is one of them -- so far we have made it into Manhattan twice.  Once was for an overnight get-away (thanks to my wonderful mom who played nanny) and the other was for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  It was surreal to see things in such an everyday context when they are world famous.


Our first adventure was a lot of fun.  We saw a Broadway show, took the ferry past Lady Liberty, ate a lot of great food, saw Times Square and Central Park, visited the rebuilding of the twin towers, and had a great time exploring without little ones in tow.

Times Square

Central Park (we saw a tiny corner of it - I can't wait to take the kids there soon) was a haven in the concrete world of Manhattan -- just when I was thinking that I'd lose my mind without some kind of contact with nature, we walked into this refuge with parks, greenery, trees, rocks, grass.

The ferry ride was fun, but sooooo cold!

Ground Zero and the Twin Towers being rebuilt

Q was sure that I almost bumped into Connan O'Brian while crossing the street in front of Central Park.  By the time I'd safely gotten to the other side, I couldn't tell much except it was a tall, skinny man with big orange hair, so maybe!

We hung out and chatted with Occupiers on Wall Street for a bit.  I had wanted to talk to someone actually involved in the movement, instead of just hearing about it on the news.  I'd like to say that I came away understanding their cause, but they didn't seem to know what they were trying to accomplish.  It was a tiny park, filled with an unusual mixture of people in tents who knew they were involved in something big, but didn't really have a specific goal or agenda.

 The day before the New York Marathon -- lots of runners and flags.

Our second adventure was on Thanksgiving morning.  I'd wanted to go to the parade, but my sister was flying into town very late the night before and it just didn't seem to make sense to try to drag everyone out in the cold  with little sleep.  But... I couldn't resist.  A bit last minute, I did some research and we just went for it.  Seeing the parade really was a once in a lifetime experience.  It was cold, packed, and hard to see everything, but there was such excitement in the air and the kids were in awe of the big balloons.  Afterwards we got some street food and then headed home to fix a Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a very full and satisfying day.  I was especially thankful for a hubby that humored me, a sister that provided extra helping hands, and her Nook that saved the day.

 Neil Diamond

The stands across the street are reserved for Macy's employees and their families as a thank you for the holiday hours they put in.  Right behind the bleachers is Central Park.

A couple of days after the parade, I went to a movie with my sister and the parade was in the movie -- it was so cool to say "I WAS THERE -- I'VE SEEN THE MACY'S PARADE IN PERSON!"  Now I kind of want to go back and re-watch all of the tv shows and movies based in NYC.

Halloween 2011

Halloween in Connecticut reminded me of many Halloweens Past in Utah -- SNOWY!!!  L was sure it was because of her Fairy Snow Princess ring that had special powers.  Many people here were without power for almost a month.  We had school and church canceled for 1 day, but other than that it just made the weekend a bit more exciting.  

  

Yes, those are still unpacked boxes stacked up because our kitchen has yet to be replaced.

She really loved her hat

A dragon

Calvin and Hobbes

A Princess Witch

Our neighbors had a party for the block right before Trick or Treating.  It was great to have everyone together -- there was a sense of community that was really nice.  We did miss everyone sitting out on their porches like they do in Columbus, but the kids had a great time.  I think this was the first year that I didn't feel overwhelmed with the insane amount of candy that usually results from Halloween.  Our Trunk or Treat was canceled because of the storm and that really made a difference.  And thanks to small bags, after 2 streets their candy was overflowing so they felt liked they'd made a haul!

First Day of Preschool

Somehow we managed to sneak into a crazy cheap and fabulous preschool for C.  I had planned to be part of a home-based group, but things have worked out so that he is in a class with his Connecticut BFF and another friend and he is loving it (actually, today he told me that he doesn't love it, but he really likes it a lot).

Bonus points to anyone that can guess what he's going to be for Halloween -- after the shoot I thought of this strip.

I am excited that I get to spend some quality time with Little G and hopefully get some day-time shopping done with only one boy in tow.  A friend of mine had a great idea that I tried out for the 1st day of school photos (why could I only find a cheap dry erase board?).  And I loved the idea of adding favorites from the beginning of the year.

Columbus Partying

Both of these events are long past, but I couldn't possibly leave them out of our Columbus good-byes.  

First, I wanted to remember our Good-Bye Party.  Since our neighbors from up the street were moving the same weekend that we were, Sarah and I decided to combine our good-bye party with a shout out to our boys that had worked so hard to finish their schooling. I think my favorite part was the ice-cream cake that probably had the decorator wondering who the happy couple was.  We had lots of friends who came out to wish us well and celebrate with us.  It was a reminder of how much Columbus had become our home.

Secondly, the post on Q's graduation would not be complete without our fabulous 2nd half of the day  -- THE PARTY!  An amazing friend of ours went all-out to plan, put-together, and bake for this event.  A party focused on cookies couldn't have made him happier.  We owe her our first-born for all of her efforts, but I think her hands are pretty full already.  Thank you, thank you, Laura for a wonderful evening!  There are a lot more pictures on her blog, so you can check them out  here.

The cookie spread

Q and his boys

How many cookies have you had?!

The wonderful women that let us return to our old backyard to party -- thanks Laura and Ellie!